Cooling system and method

ABSTRACT

A method of manipulating a cooling system of a data center includes designing a cooling system to address cooling needs in the data center, selecting components for the cooling system including one or more distribution boxes adapted to distribute coolant, one or more cooling racks, and flexible tubing to connect the one or more distribution boxes to the one or more cooling racks, assembling the components for the cooling system in the data center, operating the cooling system, identifying hot spots within the data center, and adjusting the location of one or more cooling racks in the data center based on the indentified hot spots in the data center.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/107,292, filed Apr. 22, 2008, entitled COOLING SYSTEM AND METHOD,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/335,856,filed Jan. 19, 2006 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,365,973), entitled COOLINGSYSTEM AND METHOD, which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

Aspects of the present invention relate to data centers containing racksand enclosures used to house data processing, networking andtelecommunications equipment, and more particularly to cooling systemsand methods used to cool equipment housed by such racks and enclosures.

2. Discussion of Related Art

Equipment enclosures or racks for housing electronic equipment, such asdata processing, networking and telecommunications equipment have beenused for many years. Such racks are used to contain and to arrange theequipment in small wiring closets as well as equipment rooms and largedata centers. In certain embodiments, an equipment rack can be an openconfiguration and can be housed within a rack enclosure, although theenclosure may be included when referring to a rack.

Over the years, a number of different standards have been developed toenable equipment manufacturers to design rack mountable equipment thatcan be mounted in standard racks manufactured by differentmanufacturers. A standard rack typically includes front mounting railsto which multiple units of electronic equipment, such as servers andCPUs, are mounted and stacked vertically within the rack. An exemplaryindustry standard rack is approximately six to six-and-a-half feet high,by about twenty-four inches wide, and about forty inches deep. Such arack is commonly referred to as a “nineteen inch” rack, as defined bythe Electronics Industries Association's EIA-310-D standard.

Nineteen inch racks are used extensively in data centers and other largefacilities. With the proliferation of the Internet, it is not uncommonfor a data center to contain hundreds of these racks. Further, with theever decreasing size of computer equipment, and in particular, computerservers and blades, the number of electrical devices mounted in eachrack has been increasing, raising concerns about adequately cooling theequipment.

Heat produced by rack-mounted equipment can have adverse effects on theperformance, reliability and useful life of the equipment components. Inparticular, rack-mounted equipment, housed within an enclosure, may bevulnerable to heat build-up and hot spots produced within the confinesof the enclosure during operation. The amount of heat generated by arack of equipment is dependent on the amount of electrical power drawnby equipment in the rack during operation. In addition, users ofelectronic equipment may add, remove, and rearrange rack-mountedcomponents as their needs change and new needs develop.

Previously, in certain configurations, data centers have been cooled bycomputer room air conditioner (“CRAC”) units that are typically hardpiped, immobile units positioned around the periphery of the data centerroom. These CRAC units intake air from the fronts of the units andoutput cooler air upwardly toward the ceiling of the data center room.In other embodiments, the CRAC units intake air from near the ceiling ofthe data center room and discharge cooler air under a raised floor fordelivery to the fronts of the equipment racks. In general, such CRACunits intake room temperature air (at about 72° F.) and discharge coldair (at about 55° F.), which is blown into the data center room andmixed with the room temperature air at or near the equipment racks.

The rack-mounted equipment typically cools itself by drawing air along afront side or air inlet side of a rack, drawing the air through itscomponents, and subsequently exhausting the air from a rear or vent sideof the rack. A disadvantage of the CRAC-type air conditioning system isthat cool air is mixed with the room temperature air, which isinefficient. Ideally, to make the system as efficient as possible, andto utilize as little energy and floor space as possible, the highestpossible temperature air should be drawn into the CRAC units and theoutlet air generated by the CRAC should be a few degrees below roomtemperature. In addition, airflow requirements can vary considerably asa result of different numbers and types of rack-mounted components anddifferent configurations of racks and enclosures.

For large data centers requiring CRAC units at or near the middle orcenter of the data center room, delivery of coolant to the CRAC unitsmust be located within the raised floor since it is undesirable tosecure coolant piping to the ceiling of the data center due to risksinvolved with the possible failure of the piping joints. Specifically,with traditional CRAC systems, the piping of the units requiressignificant cutting and hand soldering of pipes. Leaks are common andleaking water or coolant in a data center may result in risk of damageto equipment housed within the equipment racks. In addition, thepotential of earthquakes may shake the pipes and cause the joints tofail. For at least these reasons, most data center designers andoperators are unwilling to consider overhead piping for cooling a datacenter.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

A first aspect of the invention is directed to a system for cooling adata center having a volume of space designed to house a plurality ofelectronic equipment racks, with each equipment rack being adapted tosupport at least one piece of electronic equipment and having anindustry-standard width. The system comprises at least one cooling rackcomprising a housing having a width approximately one-half the width ofeach of the plurality of equipment racks. The system further includescooling system components supported by the housing.

Embodiments of the system may further comprise a distribution boxadapted to deliver chilled coolant to the at least one cooling rack andto receive heated coolant from the at least one cooling rack. The systemmay further comprise comprising a fluid communication system adapted toconnect the at least one cooling rack to the distribution box. In oneembodiment, the fluid communication system comprises flexible tubing andsupport members to support the flexible tubing. The flexible tubingincludes at least one length of flexible tubing having a first couplingadapted to mate with the at least one cooling rack and a second couplingadapted to mate with the distribution box. The system may furtherinclude a controller to control operation of the at least one coolingrack and the distribution box. The cooling system components maycomprise a heat exchanger housed within the housing of the at least onecooling rack, with the at least one cooling rack being configured todraw warm air over the heat exchanger to cool the warm air. A controlvalve may be operably coupled to the controller to control flow ofcoolant to the at least one cooling rack. In addition, a monitor may beoperably coupled to the controller to measure environmental conditionsof the volume of space. The arrangement is such that the controller isconfigured to control the operation of the cooling system componentsbased on the environmental conditions of the volume of space. In oneembodiment, the controller may be disposed within the at least onecooling rack. The at least one cooling rack may be a plurality ofcooling racks. The distribution box may be configured to deliver chilledcoolant to the plurality of cooling racks and to receive heated coolantfrom the plurality of cooling racks, with the controller to controloperation of the plurality of cooling racks and the distribution box. Inanother embodiment, the controller is a main controller provided in oneof the plurality of cooling racks. In yet another embodiment, acontroller is operably coupled to the at least one cooling rack, whereinthe controller is configured to determine the cooling capacity of the atleast one cooling rack. The housing of the at least one cooling rack mayinclude casters, coupled to the housing, to roll the housing along agenerally horizontal surface.

A second aspect of the invention is directed to a method of cooling adata center. The method comprises arranging a plurality of equipmentracks in a row, with each equipment rack being adapted to support atleast one piece of electronic equipment and having an industry-standardwidth. The method further comprises positioning a cooling rack betweentwo equipment racks of the plurality of equipment racks. The coolingrack comprises a housing adapted to support components of a coolingsystem, with the housing having a width approximately one-half the widthof one of the plurality of equipment racks. The method further comprisesdelivering coolant to the cooling rack.

Embodiments of the method may further comprise controlling flow ofcoolant delivered to the cooling rack. The method may also comprisemonitoring environmental conditions within the data center, andmonitoring a cooling capacity of the cooling rack. The row of theplurality of equipment racks may be arranged to create a cool aisle infront of the plurality of equipment racks and a hot aisle in back of theplurality of equipment racks. The method may also comprise drawing airfrom the hot aisle into the cooling rack, cooling the drawn air, andexhausting the cooled air to the cool aisle. In one embodiment, themethod may further comprise directly drawing air from the equipment rackinto the cooling rack. The plurality of cooling racks may be positionedwithin the data center. The method may further include controlling theoperation of the plurality of cooling racks. Furthermore, the method mayinclude monitoring environmental conditions within the data center, andselectively controlling the operation of each of the plurality of racksbased on environmental conditions within the data center.

A third aspect of the invention is directed to a system for cooling anelectronic equipment rack adapted to support at least one piece ofelectronic equipment, with the equipment rack comprising a housinghaving a front, a back, two sides, a bottom and a top, the housing ofthe equipment rack having an industry-standard width. The systemcomprises a cooling rack including a housing having a front, a back, twosides, a bottom and a top, the housing of the cooling rack having awidth approximately one-half the width of the equipment rack. Thecooling rack is constructed and arranged to be positioned next to theequipment rack in such a manner that a side of the cooling rack isadjacent to a side of the equipment rack and that the fronts and thebacks of the equipment rack and the cooling rack lie along substantiallysame planes. The system further includes cooling system componentssupported by the housing of the cooling rack, and a back plenum securedto the backs of the equipment rack and the cooling rack. The back plenumis adapted to isolate air within the equipment rack so that the coolingrack cools the air.

Embodiments of the system further comprise a front plenum secured to thefronts of the equipment rack and the cooling rack. In one embodiment,components of the cooling system are adapted to draw warm air from theback of the equipment rack to the back of the cooling rack through theback plenum, and the components of the cooling system are furtheradapted to cool the warm air delivered to the back of the cooling rackand deliver the cooled air to the front of the cooling rack and to thefront of the equipment rack. The system may further comprise adistribution box adapted to deliver chilled coolant to the cooling rackand receive heated coolant from the cooling rack. In addition, thesystem may further comprise a fluid communication system adapted toconnect the cooling rack to the distribution box. In another embodiment,the fluid communication system comprises flexible tubing, wherein theflexible tubing includes at least one length of flexible tubing having afirst coupling adapted to mate with the at least one cooling rack and asecond coupling adapted to mate with the distribution box. The fluidcommunication system may further comprise support members to support theflexible tubing. A controller is operably coupled to the cooling rack tocontrol the operation of the cooling rack. Cooling system components maycomprise a heat exchanger housed within the housing of the cooling rack,with the cooling rack being configured to draw warm air over the heatexchanger to cool the warm air under the direction of the controller. Acontrol valve may be operably coupled to the controller to control flowof coolant to the at least one cooling rack. In addition, a monitor maybe operably coupled to the controller to measure environmentalconditions of the volume of space. The arrangement is such that thecontroller is configured to control the operation of the cooling systemcomponents based on the environmental conditions of the volume of space.In one embodiment, the controller may be disposed within the at leastone cooling rack. The at least one cooling rack may be a plurality ofcooling racks. The distribution box may be configured to deliver chilledcoolant to the plurality of cooling racks and to receive heated coolantfrom the plurality of cooling racks, with the controller to controloperation of the plurality of cooling racks and the distribution box. Inanother embodiment, the controller is a main controller provided in oneof the plurality of cooling racks. In yet another embodiment, acontroller is operably coupled to the at least one cooling rack, whereinthe controller is configured to determine the cooling capacity of the atleast one cooling rack. The housing of the at least one cooling rack mayinclude casters, coupled to the housing, to roll the housing along agenerally horizontal surface.

A fourth aspect of the invention is directed to a method of cooling anelectronic equipment rack adapted to support at least one piece ofelectronic equipment, with the equipment rack comprising a housinghaving a front, a back, two sides, a bottom and a top, the housing ofthe equipment rack having an industry-standard width. The methodcomprises positioning a cooling rack next to the equipment rack, withthe cooling rack comprising a housing having a front, a back, two sides,a bottom and a top, the housing of the cooling rack supportingcomponents of a cooling system and having a width approximately one-halfthe width of the equipment rack. The cooling rack is constructed andarranged to be positioned next to the equipment rack in such a mannerthat a side of the cooling rack is adjacent to a side of the equipmentrack and that the fronts and the backs of the equipment rack and thecooling rack lie along substantially same planes. The method furthercomprises securing a back plenum to the backs of the equipment rack andthe cooling rack and delivering coolant to the cooling rack. The frontand back plenums are adapted to isolate air within the equipment rack sothat the cooling rack cools the air.

Embodiments of the method may include securing a front plenum to thefronts of the equipment rack and the cooling rack. The method mayfurther comprise controlling flow of coolant delivered to the coolingrack and/or monitoring the temperature of air within the equipment rack.

A fifth aspect of the invention may be directed to a system for coolinga data center having a volume of space designed to house a plurality ofelectronic equipment racks, with each equipment rack being arranged in arow and having a housing adapted to support at least one piece ofelectronic equipment. The system comprises a plurality of cooling racks,with each cooling rack comprising a housing and cooling systemcomponents supported by the housing. The system further comprises afluid communication system coupled to the cooling system components ofthe plurality of racks. The fluid communication system is configured toprovide chilled coolant to and exhaust heated coolant from coolantsystem components of each cooling rack. The system also comprises atleast one controller coupled to each cooling rack of the plurality ofcooling racks to control the operation of each cooling rack. Theplurality of cooling racks and the fluid communication system areconfigured to be modular to allow placement of cooling racks indifferent locations in a row of equipment racks within the volume ofspace of the data center.

Embodiments of the system may further include a distribution box adaptedto deliver chilled coolant to and to receive heated coolant from each ofthe plurality of cooling racks, with the fluid communication systemcomprising flexible tubing. The flexible tubing may include, for each ofthe plurality of cooling racks, at least one length of flexible tubinghaving a first coupling adapted to mate with the cooling rack and asecond coupling adapted to mate with the distribution box. The fluidcommunication system further comprises support members to support theflexible tubing. The cooling system components may comprise a heatexchanger housed within the housing of each of the plurality of coolingracks, with each of the plurality of the cooling racks being configuredto draw warm air over the heat exchanger to cool the warm air. In oneembodiment, the system further comprises a control valve operablycoupled to the controller to control flow of coolant to the at least onecooling rack. The system may further comprise a monitor operably coupledto the controller to measure environmental conditions of the volume ofspace. The controller may be configured to determine the coolingcapacity of each cooling rack and display the capacity on the monitor.The controller may be disposed within one of the plurality of coolingracks, wherein the controller is a main controller provided in one ofthe plurality of cooling racks. The housing of each of the plurality ofcooling racks includes casters, coupled to the housing, to roll thehousing along a generally horizontal surface.

A sixth aspect of the invention is directed to kit for cooling a datacenter having a volume of space designed to house a plurality ofelectronic equipment racks, with each equipment rack being adapted tosupport at least one piece of electronic equipment. The kit comprises atleast one cooling rack comprising a housing and a cooling systemcomprising a heat exchanger located in the housing of the at least onecooling rack. The kit further comprises a fluid communication systemcomprising flexible tubing to connect to the heat exchanger of the atleast one cooling rack.

Embodiments of the kit may further comprise at least one distributionbox adapted to distribute coolant to flexible tubing, wherein theflexible tubing includes at least one length of flexible tubing having afirst coupling adapted to mate with the at least one cooling rack and asecond coupling adapted to mate with the distribution box. The kit mayalso comprise a controller to control the flow of coolant from the atleast one distribution box to the at least one cooling rack and acontrol valve operably coupled to the controller to control flow ofcoolant. The kit may also include a monitor operably coupled to thecontroller to measure environmental conditions of the volume of space.At least one support member may be used to support the flexible tubingwithin the data center. The housing of the at least one cooling rack mayinclude casters, coupled to the housing, to roll the housing along agenerally horizontal surface. In one embodiment, the at least onecooling rack has a width approximately one-half the width of theequipment rack. At least one fan may be provided, wherein the at leastone fan is adapted to be releasably secured to the housing of the atleast one cooling rack and configured to draw warm air over the heatexchanger to cool the warm air.

A seventh aspect of the invention is directed to a method comprising:designing a cooling system for a data center; selecting components ofthe cooling system including a cooling rack, flexible tubing, and acoupling to connect the flexible tubing to the cooling rack; andpackaging the components of the cooling system.

Embodiments of the method may comprise shipping the packaged componentsof the cooling system and/or installing the cooling system. In oneembodiment, the step of selecting components of the cooling systemfurther includes selecting a distribution box adapted to distributecoolant, selecting a controller to control the flow of coolant from thedistribution box to the at least one cooling rack, and/or selecting asupport member used to support the flexible tubing within the datacenter.

An eighth aspect of the invention is directed to a fluid communicationsystem for providing coolant to and exhausting coolant from a coolingunit. The fluid communication system comprises flexible tubing and aplurality of support members. Each support member is configured to besecured to a support structure and to be releasably secured to theflexible tubing. Each support member comprises a first part and a matingsecond part, with the first and second parts being configured to besecured to one another with the flexible tubing disposed in between.

Embodiments of the fluid communication system include configuring eachsupport member to secure two lengths of flexible tubing. Each of thefirst and second parts of each support member may have two flanges, withthe flanges of the first part being adapted to mate with and secure thefirst part to the flanges of the second part. Each flange of each of thefirst and second part of each support member may have an anti-rotationboss and a boss receptacle. The arrangement is such that the boss of aflange is adapted to be received within a boss receptacle of a flange ofa mating part. Each support member may be adapted to be releasablysecured to another support member. Each of the first and second partsmay have a surface and an interconnect provided on the surface. Thearrangement is such that the interconnect of the first part isreleasably inserted into a mating interconnect of the second part toattach a support member to another support member. The interconnect maybe configured as one of a dovetail attachment and a dovetail receptacleand each support member may be configured to be secured to a supportrod. The fluid communication system may further comprise a distributionbox adapted to deliver chilled coolant to and to receive heated coolantfrom the flexible tubing. The flexible tubing may comprise apolyethylene inner layer, an aluminum center layer, and a polyethyleneouter layer. A layer of insulation may be applied over the flexibletubing.

A ninth aspect of the invention is directed to a method of installing afluid communication system of a cooling system of the type comprising acooling unit and a source adapted to provide chilled coolant to thecooling unit. The method comprises providing a fluid communicationsystem comprising a length of flexible tubing having two opposite ends,and a plurality of support members to support the flexible tubing;connecting one end of the length of flexible tubing to the source;connecting the other end of the length of flexible tubing to the coolingunit; releasably connecting the plurality of support members to thelength of flexible tubing; and attaching the support members to astructure.

Embodiments of the method may further include applying an insulationlayer over the length of flexible tubing. In one embodiment, the step ofreleasably connecting the plurality of support members to the length offlexible tubing, for each support member, comprises securing first andsecond mating parts of the support member over the flexible tubing. Thestep of securing first and second mating parts of the support memberover the flexible tubing may further comprise comprises tying the firstand second parts together with at least one zip tie, or may comprisescrewing the parts together with at least one screw fastener. In anotherembodiment, the fluid communication system may comprise a length offlexible tubing having two opposite ends and a continuous lengthsufficient to connect the cooling unit to the source.

A tenth aspect of the disclosure is directed to a method of manipulatinga cooling system of a data center. In one embodiment, the methodcomprises: designing a cooling system to address cooling needs in thedata center; selecting components for the cooling system including oneor more distribution boxes adapted to distribute coolant, one or morecooling racks, and flexible tubing to connect the one or moredistribution boxes to the one or more cooling racks; assembling thecomponents for the cooling system in the data center; operating thecooling system; identifying hot spots within the data center; andadjusting the location of one or more cooling racks in the data centerbased on the indentified hot spots in the data center.

Embodiments of the method may comprise assembling the components of thecooling system to include placing one or more cooling racks in selectivelocations in the data center, and connecting flexible tubing to one ormore distribution boxes and to one or more cooling racks. Adjusting thelocation of one or more cooling racks in the data center includesdisconnecting flexible tubing from one or more cooling racks, moving oneor more cooling racks to a new location in the data center based on theidentified hot spots within the data center, and reconnecting flexibletubing to one or more cooling racks. Couplings are used to connect anddisconnect flexible tubing from one or more distribution boxes and oneor more cooling racks. Assembling the components of the cooling systemfurther includes supporting flexible tubing with a plurality of supportmembers and clamps. The method further comprises packaging thecomponents for the cooling system and/or shipping the components for thecooling system. Packaging the components for the cooling system includespre-cutting flexible tubing. Selecting components of the cooling systemfurther includes at least one controller to control the flow of coolantfrom the one or more distribution boxes to the one or more coolingracks. The at least one controller is provided in one or more coolingrack, and/or is configured to operate under the control of an integrateddata center control and monitoring system. The at least one controllercommunicates with a data center control system to provide status of thecomponents of the cooling system and to receive control commands for thedata center control system. The at least one controller is configured tocommunicate with over a network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, are not intended to be drawn to scale. In thedrawings, each identical or nearly identical component that isillustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. Forpurposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in everydrawing. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a data center incorporatinga cooling system of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an equipment rack;

FIG. 1B is a perspective view of a distribution box of an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 1C is a perspective view of a cooling rack of an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a cooling system of the datacenter;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the cooling rack with a significantportion of a side panel removed to show the interior of the coolingrack;

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of the cooling rack;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of environmental parameters that are monitoredby the cooling system to determine cooling capacity;

FIG. 6 is a front view of a display unit of the cooling rack;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a display assemblyincorporating the display unit shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of two support members of an embodiment ofthe invention, the support member being secured to a structural memberof the data center and supporting flexible tubing;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of one of the support members shown in FIG.8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a support member being releasablysecured to another support member;

FIG. 11 is a front elevational view of the support members shown in FIG.10, with the support members being releasably secured to one another;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a clamp of an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of another clamp of an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a cooling system of another embodimentof the invention; and

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the cooling system shown inFIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This invention is not limited in its application to the details ofconstruction and the arrangement of components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention iscapable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carriedout in various ways. Also, the phraseology and terminology used hereinis for the purpose of description and should not be regarded aslimiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing”,“involving”, and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass theitems listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additionalitems.

At least one embodiment of the present invention is directed to amodular cooling system that is selectively configurable to coolelectronic equipment housed within equipment enclosures or racks of adata center. As used herein, “enclosures” and “racks” are used todescribe apparatus designed to support electronic equipment. Such acooling system is capable of employing one or more cooling racks on anas needed basis to provide localized cooling within the data center.Specifically, multiple cooling racks may be interspersed in a row ofequipment racks to more efficiently cool the data center. Thecirculation path of warm air generated by the electronic equipment isgreatly reduced, thereby nearly eliminating the mixing of hot and coldair within the data center.

Data centers are typically large rooms designed, in certain instances,to house hundreds of electronic equipment racks arranged in rows withinthe data center. The rows of equipment racks are arranged in such amanner that there are cold aisles and hot aisles. The cold aislesprovide access to the fronts of the enclosures where the electronicequipment is typically accessed. The hot aisles provide access to thebacks of the equipment racks. As requirements change, the number ofequipment racks may be increased or decreased depending on thefunctional requirements of the data center. At least one embodiment ofthe present invention is modular and scalable, and may take the form ofa kit designed to meet these changing needs. Also, although relativelylarge data centers are discussed as an intended use for such a coolingsystem, as mentioned above, the system of the present invention isscalable and may be employed in smaller rooms on a smaller scale.

In one embodiment, the cooling system may comprise a plurality ofcooling racks, each cooling rack having a housing adapted to supportcomponents of the cooling system. For example, the components of thecooling system may include a heat exchanger coupled to a distributionbox to deliver coolant to the heat exchanger and to return heatedcoolant from the heat exchanger. Fans may be provided to move air acrossthe heat exchanger. The cooling rack may be disposed within a row ofequipment racks and configured to intake the hot air within the datacenter from a hot aisle, for example, to cool the air to slightly belowambient temperature. This configuration eliminates the inefficiency ofmixing hot air with the room temperature air to obtain a warm mixture.This configuration also decreases the latent cooling provided by thedata center's air conditioning system thereby decreasing the need forhumidification.

In certain embodiments, the cooling rack may be one-half the width of astandard size nineteen inch equipment rack, e.g., twelve inches inwidth, and may be modular so that the cooling rack may be inserted intoa row of equipment racks in a matter of minutes by data center employeeswho have no particular heating and cooling training or specialization.The components of the cooling rack and the entire cooling system may beprovided in kit form so that the person installing the cooling systemdoes not require specialized tools. The modular nature of the coolingsystem allows the user to optimize the location of each cooling racksince each cooling rack includes the ability to sense and display thecapacity of the system, the flow rate, coolant and air inlet and outlettemperatures, and pressure differentials. Thus, the cooling system maybe employed and redeployed for maximum efficiency and use within thedata center.

Turning now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there isshown a portion of a typical data center, generally indicated at 10. Asshown, the data center 10 includes a room defined by a floor 12, walls,each indicated at 14, and a ceiling 16. The data center 10 is designedto house a plurality of equipment racks, each generally indicated at 18.In one embodiment, each equipment rack 18 may be constructed inaccordance with the teachings disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/990,927, entitled EQUIPMENT ENCLOSURE KIT AND ASSEMBLY METHOD,filed on Nov. 17, 2004, which is owned by the assignee of the presentinvention and is incorporated herein by reference. Further, although notshown specifically in FIG. 1, cabling between the equipment racks 18 maybe implemented using cable distribution troughs contained on the roofsof the racks as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,967,283, which isincorporated by reference and assigned to the assignee of the presentinvention.

Specifically, and with reference to FIG. 1A, the equipment rack 18includes a frame or housing 20 adapted to support electronic components,such as data processing, networking and telecommunications equipment.The housing includes a front 22, back 24, sides 26, 28, bottom 30 andtop 32. The front 22 of each equipment rack 18 includes a front door 34so as to enable access into the interior of the equipment rack. A lock36 may be provided to prevent access into the interior of the equipmentrack 18 and the equipment housed by the rack. The sides 26, 28 of theequipment rack 18 may include at least one panel 38 configured to covera side to enclose the interior region of the rack. Although notillustrated in FIG. 1, the back 24 of the equipment rack 18 may alsoinclude at least one panel or a back door to provide access to theinterior of the equipment rack from the back of the rack. In certainembodiments, the side and back panels, as well as the front door and therear door, may be fabricated from perforated sheet metal, for example,to allow air to flow into and out of the interior region of theequipment rack. Otherwise, the panels may be fabricated from solidmaterial.

The equipment racks 18 are modular in construction and configured to berolled into and out of position, e.g., within a row of the data center.Casters 40 are secured to the bottom of each equipment rack to enablethe rack to roll along the floor of the data center. Once positioned,leveling feet 42 may be deployed to securely ground the equipment rack18 in place within the row. An example of casters 40 and leveling feet42 employed on such an equipment rack 18 is disclosed in detail in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/990,927.

Once in position, electronic equipment may be positioned in the interiorregion of the equipment rack 18. For example, the equipment may beplaced on shelving secured within the interior region of the equipmentrack 18. Although not illustrated in FIG. 1, cables providing electricaland data communication may be provided through the top of the equipmentrack 18 either through a cover (or “roof” as described in U.S. Pat. No.6,967,283) at the top 32 of the equipment rack having openings formedtherein or through an open top of the equipment rack. In thisembodiment, the cables may be strung along the roofs of the rack or beprovided in the aforementioned cable distribution trough. In anotherembodiment, the cables may be disposed within a raised floor andconnected to the electronic equipment through the bottom of theequipment rack 18. With both configurations, power and communicationlines are provided to the equipment racks 18.

As discussed above, and with continued reference to FIG. 1, data centers10 are typically configured with rows of equipment racks arranged suchthat cool air is drawn into the racks from a cool aisle C and warm orhot air is exhausted from the racks into a hot aisle H. For illustrationpurposes only, the equipment racks 18 are arranged in FIG. 1 in two rowswith the fronts 22 of the equipment racks in the near row being arrangedin a forward direction as viewed in FIG. 1 and the backs 24 of theequipment racks in the far row being arranged in a rearward direction asviewed in FIG. 1. However, as stated above, in a typical data center,there are multiple rows of equipment racks 18 wherein the rows may bearranged with the fronts of the equipment racks facing one another todefine the cold aisle and with the backs of the equipment racks facingone another to define the hot aisle.

In order to address the heat build-up and hot spots within the datacenter 10, and to address climate control issues within the data centerin general, a modular cooling system is provided in one embodiment. Asshown in FIG. 1, the cooling system comprises a plurality of coolingracks, each generally indicated at 50, disposed within the data center10. As shown, the arrangement is such that there is a cooling rack 50for every two equipment racks 18 provided in the data center 10.However, it should be understood that a person of ordinary skill in theart, given the benefit of this disclosure, may provide more or lesscooling racks 50 within the data center 10 depending on environmentalconditions of the data center. Further in some embodiments, theconcentration and locations of cooling racks may be adjusted based onthe locations of the hottest racks in the data center, or based oninformation obtained and analyzed by a data center informationmanagement system.

The data center 10 preferably has a coolant medium inlet 52 and acoolant medium outlet 54 adapted to deliver and return a coolant medium(e.g., water, a glycol solution or a liquid coolant, such as R134A andR410A coolants) from a suitable source, such as a chiller unit, whichwill be discussed in greater detail below. Specifically, the coolantmedium inlet 52 is adapted to deliver chilled or cooled coolant to thedata center 10, whereas the coolant medium outlet 54 is adapted toexhaust heated coolant from the data center. The inlet 52 and outlet 54are in fluid communication with a manifold or distribution box generallyindicated at 56. With reference to FIG. 1B, the distribution box 56includes an enclosure 58 positioned in the data center 10. Theconfiguration of the coolant medium inlet 52 and outlet 54 and thedistribution box 56 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 below. Asshown, the enclosure 58 may be constructed similarly to the equipmentrack 18. The distribution box 56 is designed to distribute chilledcoolant to and to accept heated coolant from each cooling rack 50. Incertain embodiments, the distribution box 56 may be conveniently locatedwithin the data center 10, and in other embodiments, may be locatedoutside the data center. In order to facilitate its positioning, theenclosure 58 of the distribution box 56 may be provided with casters 60and leveling feet 62, similar to the casters 40 and leveling feet 42 ofthe equipment rack 18. FIG. 1 illustrates the distribution box 56positioned near the equipment racks 18 and the cooling racks 50 of thedata center 10.

It should be observed that a distribution box may, in certainembodiments, be fixed within the data center 10. For example, adistribution box may be attached to a wall 14 or other surface (e.g.,the ceiling 16) inside or outside the data center 10. The provision of amovable distribution box 56 enable the cooling system of the presentinvention to better accommodate rooms of various shapes and sizes aswell as rooms requiring varying cooling needs. In addition, it should benoted that more than one distribution box 56 may be provided in largedata rooms to accommodate many cooling racks, for example, or incircumstances requiring excessive cooling.

The distribution box 56 is connected to a plurality of flexible tubes ortubing, each indicated at 64, with two flexible tubes 64 being providedfor each cooling rack 50. The flexible tubing 64 is capable of bendingand otherwise being manipulated to conform to the structure of the datacenter room 10. Typically, the flexible tubing 64 must be sufficientlyflexible so that it conforms to the walls 14 and ceiling 16 of the datacenter 10. As shown, suitable couplings, each indicated at 66, connectthe ends of the flexible tubing 64 to the distribution box 56 and to itsrespective cooling rack 50. Each flexible tube 64 has crimped terminalends that are used to connect each tube to the distribution box 56 andthe cooling rack 50 in the well-known manner with the couplings 66securing the terminal ends of the flexible tube in place. In oneembodiment, the couplings may be of the type sold by Wirsbo Company, ofApple Valley, Minn. The connectors and couplings are connected to thedistribution box 56 by NPT one-inch connectors, and connect to theflexible tubing 64 by a crush or crimp connection. A special tool may berequired to make this connection.

As mentioned above, the flexible tubing 64 may be pre-cut to aparticular length based on the design layout of the data center room.Otherwise, the flexible tubing 64 may be cut onsite to a particularlength. Support members, such as support members 68, as well as clamps,such as 90° clamps 70 and 450 clamps 72, are further provided forsecuring the flexible tubing 64. As shown, the support members 68 areconfigured to support the flexible tubing from the ceiling and the 90°clamps 70 and the 45° clamps 72 (not shown in FIG. 1, but illustrated inFIG. 13) may be used to connect the flexible tubing 64 to the wall ofthe data center 10, or any other suitable structure. The support members68 are designed to connect the inlet and the outlet flexible tubing 64for each cooling rack 50 to one another to create a uniform and neatappearance. The support members 68 may also be employed on large,straight sections of flexible tubing 64 along the ceiling.

As shown in FIG. 2, the distribution box 56 is in fluid communicationwith a heat exchanger 74, otherwise known as a chiller unit in the art.In one embodiment, the heat exchanger 74 is provided outside the datacenter 10. Specifically, a line 76 (which corresponds to outlet 54 inFIG. 1) in fluid communication with coolant medium outlet 54 shown inFIG. 1 is provided to deliver heated fluid to a pump 78, which in turndelivers the heated fluid to the heat exchanger 74. A valve 80 isdisposed between the line 76 and the pump 78. The heated coolant iscooled in the heat exchanger 74 and cooled coolant is returned to thedistribution box 56 via the pump 78 by line 82 (which corresponds toinlet 52 in FIG. 1) through another valve 84. The valves 80, 84 areprovided in lines 76, 82 to control the flow of fluid between thedistribution box 56 and the heat exchanger 74. In one embodiment, theheat exchanger 74 is adapted to provide chilled water (e.g.,approximately 45° F. water) in thermal contact with the coolant providedin the cooling system.

The distribution box 56 may be designed to provide coolant to andreceive coolant from any number of cooling racks 50. For example, FIG. 2illustrates the distribution box 56 distributing coolant to twelvecooling racks 50. As shown, a fluid communication system may be providedto connect each respective inlet and outlet provided in the distributionbox 56 to their respective cooling rack 50. The distribution box 56includes a control valve 86 to control and monitor the flow of cooledcoolant to a particular cooling rack 50. Similarly, the distribution box56 includes another control valve 88 to control and monitor the flow ofheated coolant from a cooling rack 50. Specifically, for each coolingrack, control valves 86, 88 are configured to independently control thedelivery of chilled coolant to and receipt of warm coolant from thecooling rack. This configuration may employ the implementation ofmultiple control valves to achieve the functionality described above.

As shown, there are two flexible tubes 64 for each cooling rack, one todeliver chilled coolant to its respective cooling rack and one toexhaust heated coolant from its respective cooling rack. In oneembodiment, the fluid communication system of the cooling systemcomprises flexible tubing 64 which, as discussed above, may be providedat predetermined lengths. The flexible tubing may be of the typefabricated from a suitable polymer, or any other similar flexiblematerial. In one embodiment, the flexible tubing may be purchased fromWirsbo Company of Apple Valley, Minn. under part no. D1251000. In acertain embodiment, the flexible tubing may be approximately one-inch indiameter, and comprise a polyethylene inner layer, an aluminum centerlayer, and a polyethylene outer layer. In another embodiment, aninsulation layer may be provided over the flexible tubing 64. Theinsulation layer may be fabricated from any suitable material designedto insulate and protect the flexible tubing, such as EPDM foam having aone-half inch thickness. In one embodiment, the flexible tubing may beinserted into the annulus of the insulation layer.

A controller 90 may be employed to control the operation of the coolingsystem, and specifically, in certain embodiments, the operation of thecooling racks and/or the distribution box 56. With respect to thedistribution box 56, the controller may or may not be configured tocontrol its operation. When not communicating with the controller, thedistribution box operates under the direction of the cooling racks. Inone embodiment, the controller 90 may be a dedicated unit to the coolingsystem. In another embodiment, the controller 90 may be provided as partof an integrated data center control and monitoring system. In yetanother embodiment, each cooling rack 50 may be independently operableby a controller 90 a provided in the cooling rack that is incommunication with controllers 90 a of the other cooling racks. Withthis particular embodiment (i.e., each cooling rack being configured tobe independently operable by controller 90 a, each controller unit 90 amay embody a Philips XA 16-bit microprocessor. Notwithstanding theparticular configuration, the controller is designed to control theindependent operation of the cooling racks 50 within the data center 10.Thus, reference herein to “controller” or “controller unit” may bedirected to the controller 90 and/or the controller unit 90 a.

For example, the controller may be configured to identify the failure orinability of a particular cooling rack located within the data center tocool the air, and to increase the cooling capacity of a cooling rack orcooling racks located near the failed cooling rack. In anotherembodiment, one cooling rack may operate as the main or master unit andthe other cooling racks operate as subservient units that operate underthe control of the main unit. In this embodiment, the main cooling rackmay be manipulated by the data center operator to control the entirecooling system. For example, the controller may be configured to receiveinformation from the equipment racks so as to determine the amount ofpower being drawn by each equipment rack. With this knowledge, thecontroller may be configured to increase the cooling capacity of certaincooling racks within the cooling system based on the energy drawn by theequipment racks.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, and additional reference to FIG. 1C,each cooling rack 50 comprises a housing 92 that may be constructedsimilarly to the housing 20 of the equipment rack 18. Like the equipmentrack 18 and the distribution box 56, the housing 92 is a rectangularstructure having a front 94, a back 96, two sides 98, 100, a bottom 102and a top 104 defined by a frame constructed of vertical and horizontalsupport members. As will be disclosed in greater detail below, thecooling rack 50 is configured to accommodate cooling equipment and maybe conveniently broken down and disassembled for transport or storagewith the aid of hand tools only.

As shown in FIG. 1, in one embodiment, the housing 92 of the coolingrack 50 has a width that is approximately one-half the width of theequipment rack 18. As stated above, a typical nineteen inch rack has awidth of approximately twenty-four inches. Thus, the width of thehousing 92 of the cooling rack 50 is approximately twelve inches. Thissizing enables the person configuring the data center 10 to position acooling rack 50 or multiple cooling racks 50 in between equipment racks18 while being able to maintain equivalent spacing among several rows.The narrower width also takes up less space, and, coupled with themodular and movable nature of the cooling rack, enables the cooling rackto be conveniently placed between two equipment racks in an easilyscalable manner.

Referring to FIG. 1C, the front 94 of the housing 92 of the cooling rack50 includes a front panel 106 suitably secured to the frame. The frontpanel 106 enables an operator of the data center 10 to access theinterior region of the cooling rack 50. The cooling rack 50 may includeside panels 100 attachable to the frame of the housing 92 to cover thesides 98, 100 of the cooling rack. However, since the cooling rack 50 istypically positioned between two equipment racks 18, the inclusion ofside panels 108 is not required. Similarly, the housing 92 may furtherinclude a back panel (not shown) to cover the back 96 of the coolingrack 50. In one embodiment, the front, side and back panels may besuitably secured, e.g., by suitable screw fasteners, to the frame of thecooling rack 50. In another embodiment, fasteners capable ofmanipulation by hand, e.g., thumb screws or quarter-turn fasteners, maybe employed to attach the panels to the frame. As shown in FIG. 3, thehousing 92 of the cooling rack 50 creates a space within the interiorregion of the cooling rack to allow components of a cooling system to behoused within the cooling rack. In certain embodiments, the front panel106 may embody a door hingedly attached to the frame of the housing 92of the cooling rack 50. The components and configuration of such acooling system shall be described in greater detail as the descriptionof the cooling system proceeds.

The cooling rack 50 is modular in construction and configured to berolled into and out of position, e.g., within a row of the data center10 between two equipment racks 18. Casters 110 are secured to the bottomof the housing 92 of the cooling rack 50 to enable the cooling rack toroll along the floor of the data center 10. Once positioned, levelingfeet 112 may be deployed to securely ground the cooling rack 50 in placewithin the row. As with the equipment rack 18 and the distribution box56, the casters 110 and leveling feet 112, and their attachment to thehousing 92 of the cooling rack, are disclosed in detail in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/990,927. In another embodiment, the housing ofthe cooling rack may be formed with an eye-bolt to enable a crane orsome other lifting apparatus to raise and place the cooling rack withinthe data center.

In one embodiment, the arrangement is such that the fronts 22, 92 of theequipment and cooling racks 18, 50 are adjacent the cold aisle and thebacks 24, 96 of the racks are adjacent the hot aisle. The modular andmovable nature of the cooling rack 50 makes it particularly effective incooling locations within the data center 10 requiring climate control,e.g., adjacent a hot aisle. This configuration enables the cooling rack18 to be used as a building block for data center 10 cooling and climatecontrol, as the data center operator adds and removes cooling racks 50on an as needed basis. Thus, the cooling rack 50 allows a far superiorlevel of scalability than prior cooling systems and methods. Inaddition, an operable cooling rack may be quickly and easily provided toreplace a failed cooling rack.

As shown, the front of the housing 92 of the cooling rack 50 has anumber of variable speed fans (e.g., eight), each indicated at 114, thatare adapted to draw filtered air from the back 96 of the cooling rack tothe front 94 of the cooling rack 50 as shown by arrow A. In oneembodiment, the fans 114 may be assembled and wired within the housing92 of the cooling rack 50 such that a fan is removed by removing onlyfour screws and sliding the fan out of a receptacle (not shown) formedin the housing 92 of the cooling rack 50. The electrical power providedto each fan 114 may be connected and disconnected by a suitableconnector, such as a blindmate connector. The arrangement is such thatthe fans 114 are “hot swappable” based on their low voltage requirementsas well as their easy removal from the receptacle and blindmateconnector. In addition, the controller 90 may be configured to monitorthe operation of each fan 114 so as to predict the failure of a fanbased on power draw variances of the fan.

Further provided within the housing 92 of the cooling rack 50 is a heatexchanger 116. The heat exchanger 116 may include at least one coilhaving fins, and is positioned at an angle within the cooling rack 50.Specifically, the heat exchanger 116 is positioned generallyperpendicularly with respect to the direction of the air flowing throughthe housing 92 of the cooling rack 50 (parallel to arrow A), with theheat exchanger 116 being positioned at a slight angle with respect to atheoretical vertical plane that is parallel to the front 94 and the back96 of the housing 92 to enlarge the surface area of the heat exchangerso as to accommodate a greater volume of hot air. The arrangement issuch that the hot air that is drawn through the back of the cooling rack50 and is passed through the heat exchanger 116 to reduce thetemperature of the hot air. As mentioned above, the cooling rack 50 maybe positioned so that the back of the cooling rack is adjacent a hotaisle. Thus, the air drawn through the back of the cooling rack isrelatively hotter than ambient air within the data center 10. The fans114 blow the cool air from the heat exchanger 116 from the fans to thefront 94 of the cooling rack 50. In one embodiment, the cooling rack mayprovide up to 30 kW of cooling.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, chilled coolant is provided to the heatexchanger 116 by line 118, and heated coolant is exhausted from the heatexchanger by line 120. As shown, the lines 118, 120 are connected toflexible tubing 64 by coupling 66 located near the top of the housing92. The flexible tubing 64 is connected by coupling 66 in the mannerdescribed above to the distribution box 56. Chilled coolant entering thecooling rack 50 flows through a two-way valve 124 and a flow meter 126,which are provided to control the delivery of chilled coolant into thecooling rack 50. The two-way valve 124 and the flow meter 126 sometimesmay be together referred to as a control valve herein. In oneembodiment, depending on the configuration of the controller and thenetwork manager system, the flow meter 126 is operably coupled to thecontroller 90 a to measure the flow of coolant through the flexibletubing 64. The cooling rack of embodiments of the present inventionutilizes the flow meter 126 in order to provide the flow rate of thecoolant to the controller 90 a.

In one embodiment, the flow meter 126 enables the controller 90 a tocalculate the capacity of the operation of the cooling rack 50 based oninformation obtained by the controller. Once through the flow meter 126,chilled coolant flows to a top coil 116A and a bottom coil 116B of theheat exchanger 116. Chilled coolant is heated by the hot air drawnthrough the heat exchanger 116 by the fans 114. The calculation ofcapacity of the cooling rack will be discussed with reference to FIG. 5as the description of the system proceeds.

Once heated, coolant is delivered from the heat exchanger 116 to areturn feed via line 120 to a three-way mixing valve 128. As best shownin FIG. 4, a portion of chilled coolant may be diverted from line 118 tothe three-way mixing valve 128 by a two-way, quarter turn, by-pass, shutoff ball valve 130. As shown, the shut off ball valve 130 may beattached to a by-pass leg 132 of the three-way mixing valve 128, so thatby shutting off the shut off ball valve 130, the effect is to providetwo-way control to the three-way valve for applications where two-waycontrol is desired. In one embodiment, chilled coolant entering thecooling rack 50 is at approximately 45° F. Heated coolant exiting thecooling rack 50 is at approximately 55° F.

By making the three-way valve convertible to a two-way valve, thisconfiguration allows for a cooling rack 50 to be placed any distancefrom the distribution box 56 without risk of issues related to loadbalance problems. For example, if a first cooling rack is locatedapproximately ten feet away from the distribution box and a secondcooling rack is located approximately one hundred and twenty feet awayfrom the distribution box, the first cooling rack would receive themajority of coolant being distributed by the distribution box sincethere less pressure drop in coolant delivered to the first cooling rackthan in coolant delivered to the second cooling rack. When the three-wayvalve is in three-way mode, the first cooling rack will send the coolantit needs through the main circuit and the remainder of coolant will flowthrough the bypass circuit. The second cooling rack may only getapproximately 80% of the required coolant, while the first cooling rackis bypassing the bulk of the coolant. By converting the three-way valveto two-way mode, the first cooling rack will only draw coolant that itrequires, thereby ensuring the remainder of the coolant flows to thesecond unit, or other remote units.

As shown, a condensate pan 134 may be provided at the bottom of thecooling rack 50 to capture condensation from the top and bottom coils116A, 116B of the heat exchanger 116. A pump 136 may be provided to pumpcondensation from the pan 134. Although not shown, the cooling rack 50uses a pair of float switches in the condensate pan 134 to establish acondensate production rate. Given that the volume change is constantfrom the activation of a lower switch to an upper switch, and using thetime variable between these two events a condensate production rate maybe established. The cooling capacity is rated based on two factors: (1)the temperature change in the air (sensible capacity), and (2) thehumidity change in the air (latent capacity). Condensate is a measure ofhow much water vapor is removed from the air, therefore, by knowing thecondensate production rate, the latent capacity of the unit may beestablished. Additionally, the float switches may facilitate the controlof the pump 136, the upper level switch initiating condensate pumpoperation and the lower level switch terminating condensate pumpoperation. In one embodiment, with the exception of the condensate pump136, the entire cooling rack 50 utilizes direct current components.

Although the housing of the cooling rack is illustrated in the drawingsas being one-half the width of an equipment rack, the cooling rack maybe sized to any desired configuration. The provision of a cooling rackhaving one-half the industry-standard width improves the scalability ofthe cooling rack. However, it is contemplated, for example, to configurethe housing to have the same width as the housing of the equipment rack.In such an embodiment, the cooling rack may be configured with coolingsystem components that enhances the cooling capacity of the coolingrack. This configuration may be desirable for hot spots within the datacenter.

Turning now to FIG. 5, the controller 90 (including controller units 90a) is adapted to control the operation of the cooling system based onenvironmental parameters obtained by the controller. In one embodiment,the controller 90 may embody only controller units 90 a provided in thecooling racks 50 that communicate with one another over a controllerarea network (CAN) Bus. In other embodiments, a master controller may beprovided to control the operation of the controller units 90 a. As shownin FIG. 1, each cooling rack 50 is provided with a display assembly 138operably coupled to the controller 90 a. The display assembly 138 isadapted to display the environmental conditions of the data room, suchas, and not limited to, the temperature and the humidity of the datacenter at the cooling rack, the temperature of the air entering into andexiting out of the cooling rack, the temperature of coolant enteringinto and exiting out of the cooling rack, the flow rate of coolantentering the cooling rack, and the cooling capacity of the cooling rack.Suitable monitors and/or gauges may be provided to acquire suchinformation. Alternatively, or in addition to the foregoing embodiment,the environmental conditions may be displayed on a unit provided with anintegrated data center control and monitoring system.

As shown in FIG. 5, changes to the environmental conditions, such as thetemperature of the data center 10, results in changes of inputsincluding the temperature of the coolant flowing into and out of eachcooling rack 50. Further inputs provided to the controller 90 a (and/orcontroller 90) include the flow rate of coolant entering into thecooling rack 50 through the flow meter 126, as well as the known valuesof the coolant (e.g., water). Based on the temperature of the coolant,the flow rate of the coolant, the total heat transfer may be determined,which is calculated by multiplying the flow rate by the coolant density,by the specific heat of the coolant, and by the difference between thecoolant outlet and inlet temperatures. This heat transfer calculation isdetermined by the controller 90 a so that the amount of coolantdelivered to a cooling rack 50 through the flow meter 126 of the coolingrack may be calculated. The controller 90 a may be further configured toallow for user input for calculating load capacity of each cooling rack50 in real time. The value obtained may be compared to the maximumpossible cooling capacity to assess the reserve cooling capacity of thecooling system.

For example, the total gross cooling capacity of a cooling rack 50 maybe determined by the following equation:total gross cooling capacity=constant X flow rate X(T _(out) −T_(in))  (1)With equation 1, the flow rate is identified in gallons per minute (GPM)and the constant is 501. Based on this result, the total net coolingcapacity in BTU per hour may be determined by the following equation:Total net cooling capacity=total gross cooling capacity−fan heat  (2)Equation 2 may also be arrived at by adding the sensible coolingcapacity and the latent cooling capacity.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the display assembly 138 includes a displayunit 140 having a liquid crystal display, for example, to display theenvironmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity of the datacenter, the temperature of air entering into and exiting out of eachcooling rack, the temperature of coolant entering into and exiting outof each cooling rack, and the flow rate of coolant entering such coolingrack. A plurality of control buttons and status indicators are furtherprovided on the display unit 140 to enable the operator to manipulatethe operation of the cooling system. As shown in FIG. 7, the displayassembly 138 may be secured within an opening formed in the front panel106 of the cooling rack by means of a sealing gasket 142 and a mountingbracket 144 in which screw fasteners (not shown) may be provided tosecure the display assembly 138 to the front panel 106 within theopening.

Turning now to FIG. 8, as discussed above, numerous support members,each generally indicated at 68, may be provided to secure the flexibletubing 64 from the ceiling. In certain embodiments, the flexible tubing64 leaves the distribution box 56 and is directed to the ceiling 16 ofthe data center. Once at the ceiling 16, the flexible tubing 64 turns ina generally horizontal direction along the ceiling towards itsrespective cooling rack 50. Once above the cooling rack 50, the flexibletubing 64 drops toward the cooling rack 50 in which the flexible tubing64 is suspended between the cooling rack 50 and the ceiling. The supportmembers 68 and the clamps 70, 72 of the present invention are designedto support and guide the flexible tubing 64 and to direct the bends ofthe tubing. As best shown in FIG. 8, the support members are designed tosuspend the flexible tubing 64. Support members 68 may be furtherutilized to secure the flexible tubing 64 during relatively long,straight sections of flexible tubing. In one embodiment, the supportmembers 68 and the clamps 70, 72 may be molded from polymeric materialand are formed in two parts to clamp around the flexible tubing 64(including the insulation layer, when provided). In other embodiments,the support members 68 and the clamps 70, 72 may be fabricated from anysuitable metal or alloy.

FIG. 8 illustrates the support member 68 that is primarily employed tohang or suspend the flexible tubing 64 from the ceiling or anothersupport structure, such as an I-beam 180 or some other structure, towardits respective cooling rack 50. As shown, the support member 68 isdesigned to hold both flexible tubes 64 provided to a cooling rack 50next to one another so that the flexible tubes 64 are aligned with thecoupling 66 provided to connect the flexible tubing 64 to the coolingrack 50. One benefit of the configuration of the support member 68, andthe clamps 70, 72, is that they may be assembled without the need oftools.

Referring to FIG. 9, the support member 68 includes two parts 68 a, 68 bconfigured to hold both flexible tubes 64 (FIG. 8) in side-by-siderelation. Each part 68 a, 68 b includes a wall portion 182 that isformed to fit over two lines of flexible tubing 64 (and the insulationlayer when provided) that are positioned in side-by-side relation.Flanges 184, 186 are provided at opposite ends of the wall portion 182.As shown, flange 186 includes a boss 188 that is received in areceptacle 190 formed in the other flange. The arrangement is such thatwhen clamping the parts of the support member over the flexible tubing,the bosses 188 are received in the receptacles 190 to maintain thesupport member 68 in a clamped position over the flexible tubing 64. Thewalls 182 of the parts 68 a, 68 b are sized so that the flexible tubingfits comfortably within the parts, thereby preventing the crimping ordeformation of the flexible tubing and/or the insulation layer whenprovided. Once positioned over the flexible tubing 64, in oneembodiment, zip ties 192 may be employed to secure the parts over theflexible tubing. In other embodiments, screw fasteners 194 may be usedin the manner shown in FIG. 9.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the support members 68 may be arranged instacked relationship to secure more than two flexible tubes (not shown)to one another. The arrangement is such that the parts 68 a, 68 b ofeach support member 68 are formed with interconnects 196, 198 that areadapted to be releasably secured to another support member. Each of theparts 68 a, 68 b has both interconnects 196, 198 provided on the wall182 of the part in the manner shown in FIG. 9. The arrangement is suchthat the interconnect 196 of one part 68 b is releasably inserted intoits mating interconnect 198 of the other part 68 a to attach a supportmember 68 to another support member 68. In one embodiment, theinterconnects 196, 198 may be configured as one of a dovetail attachmentand a dovetail receptacle. Each support member 68 may be furtherconfigured to be secured to a support rod 200, which is suitably securedto a support structure, such as the I-beam 180. The support rod 200 alsoprevents the support members 68 from sliding with respect to one anotherwhen configured in the stacked arrangement discussed above and shown inthe drawings.

Referring back to FIG. 8, the support members 68 are supported by thesupport rods 200 to run flexible tubing 64 to their respective coolingracks. The support members 68 are configured with a central opening 202(FIG. 9) sized to receive the threaded rod 200 therethrough. A pair ofnut fasteners, each indicated at 204, is provided at the bottom of thethreaded rod 200 to support the support members 68. Although FIG. 8illustrates each support rod 200 having two support members 68, itshould be understood that the support rods may secure more or lesssupport members depending on data center requirements and/or the loadconstraints on each support rod. As shown, each support rod has, at itsupper end, a clamping mechanism 206 that is configured to be secured tothe I-beam 180, or some other structure. The clamping mechanism 202 isconfigured to clamp onto a flange of the I-beam 200.

FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate clamps 70, 72, respectively, used to securethe flexible tubing 64 within the data center. FIG. 12 illustrates the90° clamp 70 referenced above. As with clamps 68, the clamp 70 includestwo parts 70A, 70B designed to mate with one another to secure theflexible tubing 64 between the two parts. Multiple openings (notdesignated) are provided to receive zip ties or screw fasteners (notshown) to secure the clamp 70 to the wall 14, for example. A pair ofthumb turn fasteners 146 may further be provided to secure the two parts70A, 70B to one another prior to attaching the clamp 70 to the wall 14,or other suitable structure. The clamp 70 is used when turning theflexible tubing 64 in directions that are approximately 90°. Similarly,clamp 72 (see FIG. 13) may be provided when turning the flexible tubing64 in directions that are approximately 45°. As shown in FIG. 13, theclamp 72 is also formed in two parts 72A, 72B. Other than the angle theclamp turns the flexible tubing 64, the 45° clamp 72 is identical inconstruction to the 90° clamp. Of course, the clamp may be designed toturn the flexible tubing 64 any amount of turn radius, such as 15° and30°.

The flexible tubing 64, support member 68 and clamps 70, 72 may be usedin combination with a cable trough (not shown) provided between adjacentequipment racks 18 and cooling racks 50. Specifically, the cable troughbridge is a formed metal component that requires no physical attachmentto a cooling rack 50. In one embodiment, the flexible tubing may bedisposed within the cable trough and the clamps may be adapted to securethe flexible tubing to the cable trough. In addition, power andtelecommunications may be disposed in the cable trough as well. Thearrangement is such that the cable trough acts as a bridge over thecooling rack 50 and connects to the adjoining two equipment racks,allowing the cooling rack 50 to be slid in or out of the row and movedto another location of the data center 10.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, in operation, filtered warm air isdrawn into each cooling rack 50. At this point, the air temperature ismeasured. Next, the warm air flows across the heat exchanger 116, whichabsorbs heat from the air, thereby cooling off the air. At this point,the temperature is sampled again. The fans 114 pump the cooled airthrough the front 94 of the cooling rack 50. The fans 114 may beindividually controlled to manipulate the air flow through the coolingrack. The pressure difference is measured across the cooling rack 50 inorder to prevent pressurization of a rear plenum, when employing frontand rear plenums, which will be discussed below. Simultaneously, coolant(e.g., water) enters each cooling rack 50 and the temperature of thecoolant is measured. The coolant enters the two-way valve 124, whichthrottles and in some cases, is redirected to the shut off ball valve130. Coolant that is not diverted flows through the heat exchanger 116where it absorbs heat from the warm air flowing through the heatexchanger. Coolant next enters the three-way valve 128 and may travelthrough another flow meter (not shown) to measure the flow of coolantexiting the cooling rack 50. At this point, the temperature of thecoolant is taken. The air, coolant, and flow rate data are used tocalculate the performance and the capacity of the cooling rack 50.

Turning now to FIGS. 14 and 15, there is generally indicated at 150 acooling system of another embodiment of the invention. As describedabove, each equipment rack 18 is capable of generating a tremendousamount of heat. Sometimes, it is desirable to provide a cooling rack 50that is dedicated to cooling a particular equipment rack 18. The coolingsystem 150 is designed to cool a single cooling rack in the mannerdescribed below.

The cooling system 150 includes front and back plenums, each generallydesignated at 152, 154, respectively. As shown, the plenums 152, 154 areadapted to be attached to the fronts 22, 94 and the backs 24, 96 of theequipment and cooling racks 18, 50, respectively. The arrangement issuch that the equipment rack 18 and the cooling rack 50 are arranged inside-by-side relation after removing the front and back doors of theequipment rack and the front and back panels (or doors) of the coolingrack. Each plenum 152, 154 includes a frame 156, 158, respectively, anda plurality of clear inserts, each indicated at 160. Each insert 160 issized to fit within a respective opening of the frame 156 or 158. Thefront plenum 152 includes front doors 162, 164 for the equipment andcooling racks 18, 50, the front doors being nearly identical inconstruction to the front door 34 of the equipment rack 18 and the frontpanel 106 of the cooling rack 18. Similarly, the back plenum 154includes back doors or panels 166, 168.

The arrangement is such that the plenums 152, 154 capture air within theequipment rack 18 and the cooling rack 50 to create an isolatedenvironment between the equipment rack and the cooling rack so thatheated air flows directly from the back of the equipment rack to theback of the cooling rack through the back plenum 154. The heated air isthen drawn by the fans 114 of the cooling rack 50 over the heatexchanger 116 to cool the air to a desired temperature. The fans 114then direct the cooled air to the front plenum 152 to the front 22 ofthe equipment rack 18. This cooled air is then drawn through theelectronic equipment housed within the equipment rack 18 to cool theelectronic equipment. As shown in FIG. 15, the frames 156, 158 of theplenums 152, 154 extend between the equipment and cooling racks 18, 50so that inserts 160 may be selectively placed within openings providedby the frames. In addition, the inserts 160 provided on the outside ofthe plenums 152, 154 may be selectively removed to introduce air fromthe data center 10 within the equipment rack 18 and/or the cooling rack50. Further, inserts or other air flow devices may be included in thefront and rear doors of the frames of the plenums.

Thus, plenums 152, 154 provide a modular system designed to work inconjunction with an equipment rack (such as rack 18) and a cooling rack(such as cooling rack 50) to provide maximum cooling predictability,capacity and efficiency. By adding the back plenum 154, air exhausted bythe electronic equipment is forced to pass through the cooling rack.This configuration ensures that warm air exhausted by the equipment rackis cooled prior to being directed toward the front of the equipmentrack. Also, by adding the front plenum 152, air is further contained,and noise generated by the equipment and cooling racks is dampened.Additionally, air flow within the equipment rack and the cooling rack,when employing the front and back plenums, can be balanced so as toprevent pressurization or depressurization of either the plenum or theequipment rack or the cooling rack.

The cooling system of embodiments of the present invention is modularand scalable so that a person designing a cooling system for the datacenter 10 may select individual components. Specifically, depending onthe electronic equipment deployed within the data center 10, and theoptimum operating conditions required for the equipment, the person maydesign a cooling system that is optimized and tailored to the particulardata center. The person selects components for the cooling system,including, but not limited to: one or more distribution boxes 56 adaptedto distribute coolant; one or more cooling racks 50; flexible tubing 64to connect the distribution box (or boxes) to the cooling racks; aplurality of support members 68 and clamps 70, 72 to support andotherwise secure the flexible tubing; a controller 90 (includingcontroller units 90 a provided with each cooling rack 50) to control theflow of coolant from the distribution box to the cooling racks; and acontrol valve (e.g., two-way valve 124 and flow meter 126) to controlthe flow of coolant. When selecting the components, the lengths of theflexible tubing, the tubing diameters, which may vary from the one-inchdiameter referred to above, and the number and types of clamps may becomputed. In a preferred embodiment, the location of the cooling racks50 and the distribution box 56 in the room may be determined using acomputer aided design tool. Reference is made to U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/120,137, entitled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR MANAGING FACILITYPOWER AND COOLING,” filed on Apr. 7, 2005 and U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/719,356, entitled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR MANAGINGFACILITY POWER AND COOLING,” filed on Sep. 22, 2005, which are assignedto the assignee of the present application and incorporated herein byreference. These applications generally disclose systems and methods fordesigning data centers and for managing equipment contained within thedata center.

Once the cooling system for the data center 10 is designed, and thecomponents of the cooling system are selected, the cooling systemcomponents may be packaged and shipped to the data center from amanufacturing or distribution facility. Once received, the coolingsystem components may be assembled and otherwise installed within thedata center 10. Specifically, the distribution box 56 is connected to acooling source, such as a chiller 74. The cooling racks 50 areselectively positioned within the data center 10 between equipment racks18 or in any other suitable location. Flexible tubing 64 is provided toconnect the distribution box 56 to the cooling racks 50, with the aid ofcouplings 66, support members 68 and clamps 70, 72. The cooling racks 50and the distribution box 56 are suitably connected to a power source(not shown) and the controller 90 to complete the installation.

The cooling racks may be of the type discussed above. As discussed, theflexible tubing 64 may be pre-cut prior to shipping, or may be cut tolength at this point. Alternatively, the flexible tubing 64 may bepre-cut to an approximate length with some additional length provided inthe flexible tubing for variations that occur unexpectedly. Once thedistribution box 56 and cooling racks 50 are in place, the installer maysuspend the flexible tubing 64 overhead with the support members 68. Atthis point, the terminal ends of the flexible tubes 64 are connected bysuitable couplings 66. The distribution box 56 and the cooling racks 50are further coupled with a suitable electrical supply and to thecontroller 90 and/or controller units 90 a.

As referenced above, in one embodiment, the controller 90 may be aseparately dedicated unit that controls the operation of thedistribution box 56 and the cooling racks 50. In another embodiment, thecontroller 90 may be provided in one of the cooling racks in place ofone of the controller units 90 a, with the cooling rack having thecontroller functioning as the main cooling rack and the other coolingracks functioning as subservient cooling racks. In yet anotherembodiment, the operation of the cooling system may be operated underthe control of an integrated data center control and monitoring systemwith each cooling rack having a controller unit 90 a that communicateswith the other cooling racks over the network. In one such embodiment,the controller 90 may communicate with a data center control system toprovide status of the components of the cooling system and to receivecontrol commands for the data center control system. In one embodiment.each cooling rack includes a controller that communicates with the datacenter controller over a network, such as a CAN Bus network, and in onesuch embodiment, the data center controller may be implemented using theintegrated data center control and monitoring system, such as theInfraStruXure™ data center manager sold by American Power ConversionCorporation of West Kingston, R.I., the assignee of the presentinvention. Notwithstanding the particular configuration, the controller90 is adapted to control the flow of coolant from the distribution box56 to the cooling racks 50. After installation, the cooling system maybe tested for quality purposes. Once successfully tested, insulationmaterial (not shown) may be provided over the flexible tubing 64. In oneembodiment, the flexible tubing 64 may be inserted into the insulation.In another embodiment, the insulation may be split and applied over theflexible tubing.

In certain embodiments, the cooling system of the present invention maytake the form of a kit for cooling a data center. Depending on thevolume of space of the data center, the components of the kit arescalable to meet the cooling requirements of the data center. In oneembodiment, the kit comprises a predetermined number of cooling racksadapted to be interspersed within rows of equipment racks in the datacenter. The cooling racks may embody the cooling rack 50 describedabove. The kit may further include flexible tubing having predeterminedlengths to connect each cooling rack to the distribution box, and clampsused to support and otherwise secure the flexible tubes to the datacenter structures. In one embodiment, the kit includes at least onecooling rack for every two electronic equipment racks housed in the datacenter. The kit may further include a distribution box or boxes,depending on the cooling requirements.

One further benefit to the cooling system of embodiments of the presentinvention is that during the planning of the original design, theflexible tubing may be planned for all current and future requirements,even if the future requirements for cooling equipment is not installed.For example, the future plan may be based on a worse case (i.e.,maximum) cooling requirement. The distribution box and some overheadflexible tubing, support members and clamps may be made in the futuredesign, even if no cooling racks are installed at that particular time.In such a system, provision is made for filling this tubing with waterand removing all air from the tubing without shutting down thedistribution box, which is already supplying the existing cooling rackswith coolant. In this way, additional cooling racks may be added in thefuture without shutting down the cooling system.

Thus, it should be observed that the cooling system of the presentinvention is particularly configured for scalable and modularimplementation within a data center. The cooling system may be providedin kit form that may be installed by personnel having no particulartraining in cooling system installation and no specialized tools. Onebenefit of the cooling system is that cooling racks may be movablewithin a data center, or to another data center, when environmentalconditions or needs within the data center change.

In addition, since the cooling rack of the cooling system may beprovided as an in-row product, the cooling rack may be positioned tointake the hottest air in the data center and to cool it slightly belowambient temperature. This design feature eliminates the inefficiency ofmixing hot air with the room temperature air to get a warm mixture. Thedesign also significantly decreases latent cooling provided by the airconditioner, thereby potentially eliminating the need forhumidification. The improvements to efficiency may best be seen by thefact that the foot print of a cooling unit (i.e., the cooling rack) maybe decreased by up to thirty percent to obtain the same coolingperformance. Specifically, the provision of movable cooling racks havingcasters and leveling feet, and having the flexible tubing provided overthe cooling rack rather than being permanently tied into the coolingrack improves the efficiency and the scalability of the cooling system.To assist the operator in optimizing the locations of the cooling racks,the cooling capacity of each unit may be monitored by the operator,along with the flow rate, water and air inlet and outlet temperatures,and pressure differentials. These readings enable the operator to placethe cooling racks where each cooling rack may neutralize the maximumamount of heat, while providing higher flexibility to the operator inthe room design and layout and removing the constraint of having airconditioners positioned around the periphery of the data center. From apower perspective, each cooling rack operates under direct current, thusproviding some level of flexibility to the input power provided. Thus, acooling unit no longer needs to be built for a specific voltage.

As described above, the cooling system of embodiments of the inventionmay be further provided as part of an integrated data center control andmonitoring system. When used with such an integrated control andmonitoring system, the cooling system of the present invention enableseasy removal of a cooling rack or racks for service and relocation toanother position within the data center. The cooling system may also beintegrated into an existing cooling system of the building housing thedata center, for example and used in conjunction with one or more CRACunits to provide additional cooled air where needed in the data center.

The cooling system may be provided with a predictive failuredetermination module by utilizing a number of factors. Specifically,through the controller, each cooling rack may be designed to notify thedata center operator when certain parts, such as motors, fans, or anyother part subject to wear, are near the ends of their useful life. Theprovision of such a module will enable a reasonably timed preventativemaintenance action to be performed and to save possible downtime. Thenotification may be delivered to the display of the rack, or provided tothe operator of the data center through the integrated control andmonitoring system. In addition, a controller of the cooling systemconfigured as a main controller may compensate for a failure of aparticular cooling rack by increasing the output of other cooling rackspositioned near the failed cooling rack.

With the cooling system of embodiments of the present invention, it isobserved that the need for a raised floor is eliminated. Data roomoperators are willing to include flexible tubing overhead, sincesoldered joints, which are susceptible to failing, are no longerrequired. By eliminating the raised floor, costs associated withdesigning and providing the raised floor are eliminated. In addition,the equipment housed by the equipment racks may be better anchored tothe floor of the data center for enhanced earthquake resistance. Theflexible tubing is now visible and may be inspected easily by datacenter personnel, for example. The number of suitable sites for serverrooms or data centers is increased because rooms with relatively lowheadroom may now be utilized. Additionally, the need for raised floorramps is eliminated. It should be noted, however, that at least some ofthe embodiments described above may be used in data centers havingraised floors and the flexible tubing associated with such coolingsystems may run beneath the raised floor.

The cooling system of embodiments of the present invention is faster toinstall than prior systems. Some, if not all of the flexible tubing maybe estimated in advance and provided to the site in kit form. Inaddition, since flexible tubing is employed, the flexible tubing and thecouplings and clamps used to connect the flexible tubing to thedistribution box and their respective cooling racks require lessinterconnection work and enhance the neatness of the appearance of thecooling system. Thus, the data center looks more professional.

Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of thisinvention, it is to be appreciated various alterations, modifications,and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Suchalterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part ofthis disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings areby way of example only.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of manipulating components of a coolingsystem of a data center of the type comprising rows of equipment racks,the method comprising: providing components for the cooling systemincluding one or more sources of coolant adapted to distribute coolant,one or more cooling racks, and flexible tubing to connect the one ormore sources of coolant to the one or more cooling racks; designing acooling system to address cooling needs in the data center, includingselecting components for the cooling system; assembling the componentsfor the cooling system in the data center; positioning one or morecooling racks within a row of equipment racks so that a cooling rack ispositioned in between two equipment racks; operating the cooling system;identifying hot spots within the data center; and adjusting the locationof one or more cooling racks within the row of equipment racks byremoving a cooling rack that is positioned in between two equipmentracks in the data center and moving the cooling rack to another positionin between two other equipment racks in the data center based on theindentified hot spots in the data center.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein assembling the components of the cooling system includes placingone or more cooling racks in selective locations in the data center, andconnecting flexible tubing to one or more sources of coolant and to oneor more cooling racks.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein adjusting thelocation of one or more cooling racks in the data center includesdisconnecting flexible tubing from one or more cooling racks, moving oneor more cooling racks to a new location in the data center based on theidentified hot spots within the data center, and reconnecting flexibletubing to one or more cooling racks.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereincouplings are used to connect and disconnect flexible tubing from one ormore sources of coolant and one or more cooling racks.
 5. The method ofclaim 2, wherein assembling the components of the cooling system furtherincludes supporting flexible tubing with a plurality of support membersand clamps.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising packaging thecomponents for the cooling system.
 7. The method of claim 6, furthercomprising shipping the components for the cooling system.
 8. The methodof claim 6, wherein packaging the components for the cooling systemincludes pre-cutting flexible tubing.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinselecting components of the cooling system further includes at least onecontroller to control the flow of coolant from the one or more sourcesof coolant to the one or more cooling racks.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the at least one controller is provided in one or more coolingrack.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one controlleroperates under the control of an integrated data center control andmonitoring system.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least onecontroller communicates with a data center control system to providestatus of the components of the cooling system and to receive controlcommands for the data center control system.
 13. The method of claim 9,wherein the at least one controller is configured to communicate withover a network.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the rows of equipmentracks are arranged to form hot aisles and cold aisles within the datacenters, and wherein positioning and adjusting one or more cooling rackswithin the row of equipment racks includes receiving air from a hotaisle, treating the received air with the one or more cooling racks, anddelivering cooled air to a cold aisle.